What you’ll get

The Department for International Trade (DIT) can offer grants to eligible businesses taking part in the programme. The grants must be matched by the business’s own expenditure on direct exhibiting costs, for example:

exhibition space costs

stand costs - including design, construction and stand dressing

In some cases grants may also be agreed to match against direct conference costs where the purpose of attending is to promote the business, for example:

conference fees

cost of preparing conference promotional material

Category

Current grant levels

Group exhibition (European location)

£1,500

Group exhibition (long haul)

£2,000

Group exhibition (typical high growth market)

£2,500

Grant levels may be subject to change. The trade challenge partner will confirm the level of grant available and inform you about any service or management fee charges before you sign up.

Eligibility

You can claim a maximum of 12 grants, but 6 of them must be taken in the following emerging and high growth markets:

Brazil

Mexico

Malaysia

South Korea

China

Qatar

Thailand

Taiwan

Colombia

Russia

Turkey

Egypt

Saudi Arabia

United Arab Emirates (UAE)

India

Singapore

Vietnam

Indonesia

South Africa

Hong Kong

To be eligible for a grant you must:

be based in the UK (excluding Isle of Man or the Channel Islands)

be a small or medium-sized enterprise, UK university, UK government funded centre of higher or further learning or UK government funded research organisation

be either actively investigating export opportunities for your own business

be a new exporter (exports accounting for no more than 25% of your turnover) or have exported for no more than 10 years

be within the State Aid limit of €200,000 over any rolling 3 year period

not receive any other public funds towards eligible costs for the grant you are applying for

not have been fully committed to attend the event prior to seeking the grant

The trade challenge partner organisation will send you more information about the trade show, level of grant available and an application form. They will then make the grant application on your behalf to DIT.

If you haven’t applied for a Tradeshow Access Programme grant before, the trade challenge partner organisation will contact a DIT International Trade Adviser (ITA) to help you with your application. The DIT adviser may contact you to discuss DIT services that might also help you with exporting.